mila | orange county wedding photographer . vendor shoot at the mcCharles house

What if you didn't want the traditional wedding gown? What if you wanted a more intimate setting for your wedding? What if you wanted something spunkier for your special day? These were the ideas we were toying with when we setup this look for the alternative bride.


Last week hanssie and i went to the McCharles House in Tustin armed with 4 models, a team of helpers, gorgeous dresses, flowers, friends and fun!

• the venue: the McCharles House in Tustin is a victorian style home decorated with 24 years of love, history and art. managed by the sweet mother-daughter team audrey and vivian, it is the perfect place to have an intimate wedding with that vintage feel.
• dresses by cassie betts - adorable short wedding dress fashion by cassie
• flowers by french buckets - inspired floral designs by susanna.
• makeup by alisha baijouas and sharon tabb
• hair by jennifer alvarez

** special thanks to mary lallande of jay's catering for sending us to the McCharles house and introducing us to all these wonderful people!


** and a million thanks to each of our models who patiently worked with us that day! thank you mai, diane, gelsey and lauren.

i was influenced by a combination of vogue fall fashion, alice (the new movie w johnny depp) and D&G postcards. Not your typical wedding bridal fashion shots and something totally me...

ENJOY!

mila | orange county photography workshops

i've been a busy busy girl ... trying to be everywhere at once and it's been exhilarating!  after the initial preggo fog finally lifted i've been making up for lost time!


let's talk workshops!  there's a few things going on that you guys should know about if i haven't already shared them with you...


FOOD + CLIX
i started a monthly get together with a handful of friends (actually... 3 of them to be exact).  we meet at the cafe tutu tango at the block.  they just got their first DSLR's and i'm just dowloading all kinds of photo info on them.  i remember when i first got my camera and after 3 months of playing i felt like i needed to be the boss of it instead of the other way around.  i felt like i was getting lucky with my shots.  the goal was to be consistent.  i learned the long way by buying books, digging thru the net, research, eavesdropping, workshopping and just practicing.  these guys are getting a bit of a shortcut.  we talk about equipment, methods, techniques, bloopers and oopsies, software, ideas, all kinds of camera geeky stuff!  


you should come join us!  it's free (buy your own grub), it's chill, it's fun, it's over food!


when: Sept 29, 2009 11am - 2pm
where: the block at orange, cafe tutu tango
what to bring:  all your camera questions.  bring your camera too.


ADOBE PS LIGHTROOM 2.0 - A CRASH COURSE
i'm teaching at the Irvine Fine Arts Center!  there's 2 separate classes.  2 opportunities to learn!  here's the course information and the registration sites...


Irvine Fine Arts Center
14321 Yale Ave
Irvine, CA 92604-1901
(949) 724-6880


Digital Photography: Intro to Lightroom 2.0  NEW!

Are you a digital photographer striving to achieve maximum results in
enhancing your work? Learn to streamline your digital photography
workflow and increase your efficiency using the popular software
program Lightroom 2.0. Participate in this one-evening intensive
workshop that will introduce the software, focus on the library,
develop modules and setup options and import/export functions.
Workshop will touch briefly on the slideshow, print, and web modules.
Inst: Michelle Cunningham. IFAC Member $91.


#76981              Tuesday Oct. 6              6:30pm-9:30pm
   Registration fee: $99.00              IFAC – Studio 1
   to register for this class, click here

#77696              Tuesday Oct. 13            6:30pm-9:30pm
  Registration fee: $99.00              IFAC – Studio 1
  to register for this class, click here




SMUG MUG OC
you guys know (or may not know) that i'm co-leader for the oc smugmug.  we just announced the next smug! i'm hoping to make it... hanssie and i will be flying back from las vegas that day but you should definitely go!

The Next OC SMUG meeting is Thurs, Sept. 24 @ 7PM

Hosted by SMUG Leader Jasmine Star, this month's SMUG will reveal... Fusion... WTF? Jeff Jochum will reprise his Igniting Fusion presentation at this month's meeting. Featuring incredible Fusion videos by Bob Davis, Robert Evans, JVS, Chris MacAskill, The Bebbs and The Bui Brothers (some of these Fusion leaders may even be at the meeting to discuss their work) as well as the NEWEST video from Vincent Laforet's SmugMug project in Hawaii - Igniting Fusion was a big hit at this year's Collision Conference, hosted by the LA Film School, a few weeks ago. If you are wondering "WTF is Fusion (and why should I care)?" - this is the meeting for you.  Learn how its done (good, bad and ugly) and how to GET STARTED in this next generation market opportunity.  Old Skool is still cool, but the success of the Canon 5D MkII (and excitement around the new 7D), coupled with the exploding consumer demand for vid-media (thanks to Animoto.com and the Apple iPhones and iPods) is driving Fusion photography as the next BIG step up in the world of digital photography. Become a Fusion leader (of find one) at this month's SMUG. Orange County SMUG Thursday, Sept. 24, 2009 | 7:00-8:30PM Mesa Verde Country Club (map) 3000 Clubhouse Road Costa Mesa, CA 92626 SMUGs are free and open to everyone who loves photography. No RSVP is needed, but SPACE is LIMITED, so get there early for the best seats.  SOCAL PHOTOG SHOOTOUT GROUP i'm also part of the socal photog shootout group family.  hanssie and matt run this awesome shootout group.  get together every other month with a great group of photographers.  bring a camera and learn techniques hands on with models, instructors and friends.  meet new people, pick up some info, walk away happy.  it's super duper fun!  let you know when the next one is.  but join the group via facebook and be informed immediately, click here to join. PHEW!  busy girl or what?!?!  told ya!  here's a photo to end this loooooong post.  ... because curtis and i are both getting hit with a bout of "home-sickness" (we mean the philippines of course)

mila | MY belly bump . 3 months

so i was on IM with my friend sylvia last week and she goes... "your belly is going to get bigger and shinier than curtis' head". after i stopped laughing i decided it was time to start the belly bump images. and curtis' head will be our comparison tool.


here we are at 13 weeks. (should really have taken this last week so we can do a monthly one but ... oh well). you'll have to forgive curtis' lack of expression. he literally just woke up.

mila | portraits . alana

remember miz julz from a few months ago? yoga instructor, choreographer, fitness guru... super woman? we got back together last week to shoot her family photos with hubby phil and her adorable daughter alana. this lil cutie had a plethora of songs that she loved to sing and dance to. we got in the car to head to the park and she promptly asked for some "music please"! she knew all the words and bopped her head to the rhythm of her favorite songs.


all that cuteness in one bundle...i guess you couldn't expect any less when mom and dad are both gorgeous! oh and meet her fav girl kk who not only keeps her happy company but also adds to her funny face repertoire.